UN rights experts call on Sudan to drop six death penalty charges News
UN rights experts call on Sudan to drop six death penalty charges

A group of UN experts on Wednesdayurged authorities [press release] in Sudan to drop death penalty charges against six members of the Khartoum Center for Training and Human Development (TRACKS). The members were arrested a few months ago for criminal conspiracy, undermining the constitutional system, waging war against the state, espionage and terrorism. They have not yet faced trial, but the charges all possess the maximum penalty of death. According to the experts, the arrests and charges appear to be directly linked to TRACKS work with human rights defense, after a series of office raids, previous detainments, and questioning involving torture. The experts have raised their concerns at previous times, but point out that Sudan has signed onto international law that recognizes the freedom of expression and freedom of association. The group hopes that, at a minimum, the most stringent due process guarantees are enforced.

Capital punishment [JURIST op-ed] remains a controversial issue worldwide. Earlier this week a UN rights expert expressed “outrage” [JURIST report] regarding Iran’s execution of 12 people for drug-related charges. Last month Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that he would approve reinstating the death penalty [JURIST report] so long as the measure had sufficient support in the Grand National Assembly. In May a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned [JURIST report] Iranian authorities for the sentencing of Nargis Mohammadi, an anti-death penalty activist. Also in May UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein welcomed [JURIST report] the measures being taken by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to prevent the use of its drugs in state-sponsored execution by lethal injection. UN human rights experts expressed [JURIST report] grave concern earlier that month over Belarus’ death penalty practices after reports surfaced that a man was executed while his case was before the UN Human Rights Committee.